Toll in deadly span for N.C. troops at 9

The toll from a deadly stretch for North Carolina-based soldiers rose to nine Sunday as Department of Defense officials released the names of a Camp Lejeune-based Marine and a Fort Bragg-based paratrooper who were killed in Afghanistan.

Seven other Bragg soldiers were killed in the past nine days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, defense officials said.

The latest names released are:

Lance Cpl. Michael L. Freeman Jr., 21, with the II Marine Expeditionary Force, who was killed Feb. 1 while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Sgt. Dillon Foxx, 22, who died Friday after enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Foxx was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team.

Earlier, defense officials announced the deaths of Capt. David J. Thompson, 39, with the 3rd Special Forces Group, and Spc. Marc P. Decoteau, 19, with the 4th Psychological Operations Group; both were killed Jan. 29 while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan's Wardak province.

Capt. Daniel Whitten, 28, and Pfc. Zachary Lovejoy, 20, with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, died Tuesday when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan's Zabul province.

Three special operations soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Timagara, Pakistan, on Wednesday: Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, and Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, both with the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade; and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets, 39, with the 4th Psychological Operations Group.

"Both Matthew and David are heroes in my mind. ... They both believed in what they were doing, and they were committed to helping people in a place where violence against innocent populations was too often commonplace," said Col. Michael J. Warmack, commander, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade.

The Fort Bragg soldiers served with the 82nd Airborne Division and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.